presbyterate

Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

n. The office of a presbyter.

n. A body or an order of presbyters.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

n. A presbytery; also, presbytership.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English

n. A presbytery; also, presbytership.

from The Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

n. The office or station of a presbyter.

n. A presbytery.

Etymologies

presbyter +‎ -ate (Wiktionary)

Examples

According to all texts previously quoted the presbyterate is the bishop's advisory council and his support, and constitutes with him a governing body which has a claim to due reverence and obedience while itself subordinate to him (ad Trall., xii, 2; ad Eph., iv, 1; cf. Polyc., v, 2).

Ordination was more and more being regarded as a merely civil requirement, but conveying no ministerial commission; recognition by the congregation with the laying on of the hands of the presbyterate was the only ordination they allowed as apostolic.

Indeed not, since it is one of the bitter fruits of those councils that the presbyterate has been decimated by tens of thousands; seminaries closed and Sunday congregations reduced to single digit percentages in most western countries.

Trusting in your Bishops, united fraternally to the whole presbyterate and supported by the portion of the People of God commended to your care, you will be able to respond faithfully to the Lord who has called you, just as he called Joseph to watch over Mary and the Child Jesus!